American Legion post in Lady Lake named world's largest

LADY LAKE — War stories abound at any American Legion post, but perhaps not as many as at Post 347.

With about 4,400 members, it recently became the world's largest American Legion post after years of coming in behind Madeira Beach. The Lake County post last year alone added nearly 1,000 new members, including those who transferred from other posts. The growth in part is due to a push in recruitment and the growth of The Villages retirement megacommunity, post Commander Tim Tierney said.

"People are retiring and moving to places like The Villages," he said. "There are other posts around us, but we are very active."

Attracting new members is no small feat, particularly in an era when World War II veterans are dying off and recruiting younger vets to join organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars can be challenging, just as it is for nonmilitary service clubs such as the Shriners, Moose and Elks.

In the past decade, American Legion membership dropped in the state from about 140,000 to 126,000, according to Michael McDaniel, state director for American Legion of Florida. Ten posts closed in that time, primarily because of the decreasing number of World War II veterans, he said.

Still, thanks to its large retiree population, Florida is home to three of the five largest — or "king-size" — American Legion posts in the world. There are 14,000 posts worldwide.

The Madeira Beach post, with nearly 4,000 members, is the second-largest post. A "cyberpost" operated by the Orlando-based American Legion of Florida ranks fifth with nearly 3,200 members, said John Raughter, spokesman for the Legion's national headquarters in Indianapolis. The cyberpost is the first in the state, launched four years ago to give service members stationed in Iraq and elsewhere a way to stay in touch with friends and family and keep track of veterans' issues, McDaniel said.

At Post 347, Tierney said new members are drawn by the camaraderie among veterans and a wide range of volunteer activities and entertainment. Korean War veteran Joy Goff, who joined the post 12 years ago and has been volunteering every week to help register new members, agreed.

"They want to volunteer and help other veterans. They feel they can do it here," said the 79-year-old Goff, who lives in The Villages, which has a population of 100,000.

Members take part in fundraisers and service projects to help veterans and their families, as well as youth programs such as Boys State, which teaches high-school students about local and state government. Also, the lounge is a gathering place for members, who enjoy beverages while commiserating about the day's events. The post serves meals on most days of the week and offers music and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights. Thursday is bingo day.

The variety of activities was a big reason Marine veteran Jay Cunningham joined last week. He and his wife, Sharon Cunningham, 72, were looking for a way to meet people after moving to The Villages from Chicago two months ago.

"I heard it was the largest and friendliest post in the world," said Jay Cunningham, a 75-year-old retired broker.

Although service groups have had trouble gaining younger members, McDaniel said he expects membership to grow as baby boomers continue to move to Florida and younger veterans continue to get older. He said those who served during the Vietnam War are already stepping up to fill in leadership roles vacated by World War II vets. Vietnam vets make up about half of Legion memberships in Florida.

Florida is home to more than 1.5 million veterans — about a third of whom served during Vietnam, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tierney — who racked up 31 years of Air Force service, including active duty and the reserves — said Vietnam War veterans make up about two-thirds of the membership at Post 347.

The post's distinction as world's largest gives it bragging rights, but Tierney and others with the Legion aren't resting on their laurels. The post plans to do membership drives at The Villages' town squares, where both retired and younger veterans from nearby cities such as Fruitland Park and Wildwood visit for the restaurants and entertainment.

"I can see us maintaining and growing better than a lot of other areas because of our demographics," Tierney said.